The present disclosure relates to a liquid crystal device of the reflective type or of the transflective type in which a reflective section and a transmissive section are both provided, and to an electronic apparatus having the liquid crystal device as a display unit.
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for display devices to be applied to mobile apparatuses such as cell phones and electronic papers. Attendant on the demand, attention has been paid to reflective type display devices. A reflective type display device displays images by reflecting externally incident light (ambient light) by a reflector plate, and does not need a backlight. Therefore, the reflective type display device promises savings of electric power by an amount corresponding to the backlight, and permits a mobile apparatus to be driven for a longer time as compared with the case where a transmissive type display device is used. In addition, since the backlight is not needed, the reflective type display device can be made lighter in weight and smaller in size accordingly.
Since display in a reflective type display device is performed utilizing external light, a layer having a scattering function has to be provided in the display device. For instance, in Japanese Patent No. 2771392, a reflector plate is provided with a rugged surface, whereby a scattering function is imparted to the reflector plate. Besides, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 11-237623, it is disclosed to newly provide a layer having mainly a property for forward scattering (such a layer will hereinafter be referred to as “light-scattering layer”). Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 11-242217, it is disclosed that a reflector plate is provided with a rugged surface and a light-scattering layer is newly provided.